The Emergency Aid & Relief Program (EARP)

EAG's programs and services focus on sustaining and supporting the careers of working performers.  We help bridge those inevitable gaps that happen in performing arts careers and get people back on stage and performing. While we have many aid programs, the process begins with the Emergency Aid & Relief Program (EARP).

Through EARP, we give grants to qualified performers in financial crisis regardless of religion, race, national origin or ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, political ideology/affiliations, or language.  Through EARP we address critical issues like eviction, housing court stipulations, utility shutoffs, emergency medical and dental costs, and sustenance needs like food and transportation. Qualified applicants live in one of the five boroughs and have an established career working as a performer for at least five consecutive years.

How EARP can help

Through EARP, we can grant up to $600 (or up to $850 if you are over 60; or up to $1,000 if you have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS). We are not able to pay applicants directly, but instead make grant payments directly to the vendor (for example: your doctor or landlord). All recipients of EARP also have access to The Actors Pantry and may visit as often as they need. For information on our other aid programs, click here.

Eligibility

To be eligible for EARP, applicants must be able to prove that they
See below for more details about each qualification.

If you do not qualify, please see our list of additional resources here.

Required Documents

The documents we'll need include:
  • A current photo ID (driver’s license, passport, or non-driver state ID)
  • Your performance resume
  • Proof of earnings as a performer (see details)
  • Bank Statement (most recent month – we need the whole statement, not just the balance)
  • Documentation of illness or injury (if applicable)
  • Bills you would like us to consider (rent, mortgage, utilities, medical, or dental expenses).  We CANNOT pay credit card bills, any bills associated with your vehicle, storage, cable or streaming, union dues, tax bills, or overdraft fees.
Once you have applied, please see this document to expedite your grant.

Detailed Eligibility
(Please read carefully. Some of our eligibility criteria have changed.)

A.  Proof of status as a professional performing artist: The primary determining criterion for eligibility is that the applicant be a professional performing artist who is pursuing an established and ongoing career in the performing arts. ​ Theatre performers who perform live onstage before a live audience are the primary focus of the program. 
B.  Proof of an ongoing and sustained professional career:
  1. Documentation of a minimum of 5 consecutive years of earnings as a professional performing artist, of which at least 3 separate years must present annual earnings of at least $7,500.
  2. If a career of 10 or more cumulative years can be documented, 5 of those years must present earnings of at least $7,500.
  3. A career of 20 or more cumulative years must present earnings of $7,500 or more in 10 of those years.
  4. If an individual is disabled or retired, earnings during the final 5 years of a career before retirement or disability may be considered. Performers who are vested and receiving performing arts union pensions are also eligible. 
C.  Proven need:
  1. Applicants must be in a state of economic need because of extenuating circumstances such as debilitating illness, (including chemical dependency problems); illness or death of a family member or significant other; a sudden increase in expenses or an unforeseen drop in income; or, if retired or disabled, an insufficient fixed income from sources such as pensions, social security, and/or disability benefits.  
  2. For applicants who are in good health, it is expected that efforts have been made to secure supplementary income by employment outside the performing arts professions, and/or of other good faith efforts to plan for and to secure income in support of their circumstances. 
  3. Applicants with health problems must provide documentation of their medical condition from their health care provider stating the nature of illness, course of treatment, and prognosis.
  4. Proof of financial need must be documented in the form of invoices, unpaid bills, current printouts of union earnings statements, pay stubs, contracts, bank statements showing depletion of funds, and/or copies of recent federal income tax returns proving low income and exhaustion of other available resources such as savings accounts, trust funds, real estate equity, or available pension plans. For rental arrears, evidence of emergency need, such as eviction notices or court-ordered stipulations, must be presented as documentation. 
D.  Proven lack of other resources: 
  1. Applicants must prove that there are no other personal resources (no more than $5,000 in savings across all personal checking and savings accounts) or other public welfare agency resources available to them with which to address their presented needs.
  2. They must also prove that their needs have not already been substantially met or cannot be met by the relief funds of their parent union and/or other unions, by the Entertainment Community Fund, and/or other performing arts charitable organizations.
E.  Proof of residency in the New York City area
If you have questions about your eligibility for our programs and services,
​please email Charitable Programs Associate Jamie Soltis at [email protected].   
EAG is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts.